Roku rubbishes Apple TV

Telly streaming outfit Roku has been telling the world+dog that he is not at all worried about the fruity cargo cult Apple entering his market.

Founder and Chief Executive Anthony Wood dismissed the Apple competition saying that Jobs’ Mob will not make any money.

Wood said that Apple TV is essentially an accessory for the iPad and they will lose money, which is unusual for Apple. Speaking at the Recode conference he pondered: “If you’re losing money, why would you want to sell more?”

Roku said that the big technology companies making forays into streaming boxes helps Roku to grow. The day Apple launched its $99 box, Roku sales doubled, he noted.

This is not the first time that Wood has claimed that big technology companies moving into the market has helped his outfit grow.

In the interview, Wood also disclosed that Aereo, the service that streams over-the-air broadcast programming, is now available as an app on Roku for some, right alongside pornography.

To avoid parent controls, the company gives out testing codes to some customers to have access to certain content — like pornography. An app for Aereo, which is being sued by Roku investors Hearst and 20th Century Fox, is available through the same means as well.

Roku exists in a market for streaming-video devices that is growing quickly as options for online video grow more robust, from original series on Netflix to a proliferation of more niche-oriented video apps. Roku has more than 1,200 apps available, double the number it had a year ago.

Competition among streaming-video devices is also expanding. In addition to Roku’s biggest rival in Apple TV, Google launched Chromecast to wide appeal last year, and Amazon is widely expected to release a streaming product at an event next week in New York. If Wood is correct, and competition is good for his company, then he should be coining it in by the end of next year.